Rotary brush attachment for tank type vacuum cleaners



July 17, 1962 J.-P. ZAIDAN 3,044,100

ROTARY BRUSH ATTACHMENT FOR TANK TYPE VACUUM CLEANERS Filed Sept. 12,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR $1927 1? I? 2191019 ATTORNEYS July 17,1962 J. P. ZAlDAN 3,044,100

ROTARY BRUSH ATTACHMENT FOR TANK TYPE VACUUM CLEANERS Filed Sept. 12,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 J INVENTOR.

f c/OSfP/l R ZA/DA/V BYWM ATTORNEY 5.

tinned States Fatent 3,044,100 ROTARY BRUSH ATTACEHWENT FOR TANK TYPEVACUUM CLEANERS Joseph P. Zaidan, 1234 S. Broad St, Philadelphia, Pa.Filed Sept. 12, 1958, Ser. No. 760,748 1 (Ilairn. c1. 15-387) Thepresent invention relates to rotary brush attachments for tank typevacuum cleaners and particularly to such attachments which are operatedby air moving there- J through.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a rotary brushattachment for tank type vacuum cleaners having an air motor drive forthe brush which is sufiiciently efficient that the vacuum cleaning powerof the vacuum cleaner is only very slightly reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a rotary brushattachmentfor tank type vacuum cleaners an air motor which will permitdirt and trash picked up by the suction of the vacuum cleaner to passtherethrough without stalling the air motor.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a brush attachment ofthe class described above an air motor having an encompassing airdirecting housing positioned over approximately one-half of the area ofthe air motor rotor to increase the efliciency of the air motor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a rotary brushattachment for tank type vacuum cleaners which is inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to attach and use and which can be readily opened forcleaning and repair as required.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the apparatus shownattached to the vacuum hose of a tank type vacuum cleaner;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown partially brokenaway for convenience of illustration;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus shown partiallybroken away and in section for convenience of illustration; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of modified form of theapparatus, shown partially broken away and in section for convenience ofillustration.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like referencecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, thereference numeral 10 indicates generally a rotary brush attachment fortank type vacuum cleaners constructed in accordance with the invention.

The attachment 10 includes an elongated generally horizontal housing 11having a generally rectangular opening 12 formed in the bottom wall 13thereof. An elongated spindle 14 is journalled in the housing 11 inoverlying relation with respect to the opening 12. The spindle 14 isprovided with a plurality of brush tufts 15 which are adapted to projectthrough the opening 12 below the housing 11 on rotating of the spindle14.

The housing 11 is provided with an upstanding central portion 16' whichterminates in a generally horizontal upper edge 17 and is provided witha flange 18 extending rearwardly on one side thereof, and a secondflange 19 arranged in spaced parallel relation thereto and extendingrearwardly on the opposite side thereof.

A second housing, generally indicated at 20, is provided with an uprightside wall 21 having a generally EQQ arcuate wall 22 fixedly secured tothe peripheral edge of the side wall 21 and projecting substantiallyperpen dicularly laterally therefrom. A generally flat cover panel 23engages the arcuate wall 22 on the free edge thereof in spaced parallelrelation to the side wall 21. The flat cover panel 23 is provided with aperpendicularly extending relatively short flange 24 which engages overthe arcuate wall 22 securing the cover panel 23 thereto in sealedrelation.

The side wall 21 is provided with a generally upright laterallyextending forward wall 25 projecting generally perpendicularly from theside wall 21 oppositely of the arcuate wall 22.

The arcuate wall 22 is provided with a port 26 in the forward portionthereof for reasons to be assigned. The arcuate wall 22 is provided witha cylindrical tubular extension 27 projecting rearwardly therefrom onthe side thereof opposite the port 26. A tank type vacuum cleaner vacuumhose 28 is shown in FIGURES l and Z, detachably engaged over theextension 27 to connect the housing 241 therewith.

The housing is provided with a depending upright front wall 29 which issecured to the arcuate wall 22 and projects downwardly therefrom. Thehousing 11 is adapted to be secured to the housing 211 with the flange19 engaging the side wall 21 thereof and the flange 18 engaging theouter face of the cover panel 23. The upstanding central portion 16 ofthe housing 11 has the horizontal edge 17 thereof formed into a revertedhook 319 along the portion of its length overlying the front wall so asto encompass the upper edge of the front wall 25, as best shown inFIGURE 3.

A bolt 31 extends through the lower part of the rear wall 32 of thehousing 11 and projects through the depending wall 29, as best seen inFIGURE 4. A wing nut 33 is threaded on the bolt 31 to detachably securethe depending wall 29 to the rear wall 32 of the housing 11. A latch 34is pivotally secured at '35 to the arcuate wall 22 in position so thatthe latch 34 can be pivoted to engage over the horizontal edge 17 of theportion .16 so as to releasably lock the housing 11 to the housing 20with the port 26 providing communication between the housing 11 and thehousing 26.

A right angle drive gear box 36 is secured to the side wall 21 with thedriving shaft 37 thereof projecting through the front wall 25 into thehousing 11 and having a drive pulley 38 fixed thereto within the housing11.

A twisted drive belt 39 is trained over the drive pulley '33 and aroundthe spindle 14 so that rotary motion of the drive shaft 37 will rotatethe spindle 14 and the brush tufts 15 thereon.

A driven shaft 40 extends generally horizontally from the gear box 36through the side wall 21 into the housing 29. A rotor, generallyindicated at 41, includes a pair of spaced apart circular side disks 42,43 which are mounted on the shaft 40 to rotate therewith. A plurality ofradially extending rotor blades 44 have their inner edges secured to theshaft 40 with their opposite side edges secured respectively to thecircular disks 42, .3. The rotor blades 44 have their outer edgesarcuately oifset at 45 in a clockwise direction, as can be best seen inFIGURE 47 I An arcuate two-part channel-shaped baffle, generallyindicated at 46a, is arranged in substantially encompassing relation tothe rotor 41 overlying approximately onehalf the axial length thereof.The channel baffle includes a lower section having an arcuate outer Wall47 secured at its forward end 48 to the arcuate wall 22 immediatelybeneath the port 26.therein. The lower section of the channel baffle 46ais indicated at 52. The channel bafiie also includes an upper sectionhaving an '21 for rigidity and strength. The upper section 53 of thechannel baflie 46a is disposed in radially outwardly,

ofiset relation with respect-to the lower section 52 and spacedtherefrom at 54. The space 54 between the sections 52 and 53 and theirradially oifset relation permits the lateral escape of a portion of thedirt collected by the device to reduce the possibility of clogging theapparatus.

An inner flange 50 projects perpendicularly inwardly from the wall 47 ofthe lower section 52 in generally aligned relation with the disk 42 ofthe rotor 41. A second flange S1 is supported on and projects inwardlyfrom the edge of the circular wall 47 opposite the side wall 21, withthe flange 51 generally overlying the midpoint of the axial length ofthe rotor 41. The flanges 50, 51 have their lower forward ends securedto the arcuate wall 22 immediately adjacent to and on opposite sides ofthe port 26. The upper section 53 includes flanges 50 and 51' which arein substantially aligned relation to the flanges 50 and 51 on the lowersection 52.

a In the use and operation of the invention the vacuum hose 28 isconnected to the extension 27 and with the tank type vacuum cleaner (notshown), to which the hose 28 is attached in operation, the housing 20 isevacuated. The evacuation of the housing 20, due to the port 26, causesa flow of air to enter the opening 12 in the housing 11, which flowsupwardly through the port 26 into the housing 20. The air flow isdirected by the channel shaped bafile 46a into the inner half of therotor 41. The blades 44 of the rotor 41 form closed pockets and, hence,the air flow from the battle 46a moves axially outwardly between theblades 44 away from the wall 21 and then radially outwardly from therotor 41 into the housing 20.. The flow of air into the rotor 41 and outof the rotor 41 moves past the oflset ends 45 causing the rotor 41 torotate in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURE 4. Thechannel bafile 46a materially increases the efiiciency of the rotor 41since the air flow is caused to exert a driving force on the ofiset endsof the blades 44 when entering the rotor 41 and again on leaving therotor 41.

'It should be noted that the circular flanges 50, 51, and

', 51 are spaced from the rotor 41 to permit trash and other material tomove outwardly from the channel bafile 46a into the housing 20. a

In FIGURE 6 the housing 20, housing 11, rotor 41 and its mounting in thehousing 20 are all identical with the preferred form of the invention.In the modifica- 1 tion illustrated in FIGURE 8, the generally circularbaifle 46B has the upper portion thereof extending outwardly at an angleto the rotor 41. In this form of the invention, the arcuate wall 47Bwidens toward its upper terminal end with the inner flange 50 and theouter flange 51 remaining in parallel relation to each other forming aspiral passage from port 26 to the interior of housing 20 as shown indotted lines. In this form of the invention increased efliciency andadditional power is obtained from the rotor '41.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the invention, itshould be understood that numerous modifications and adaptations may beresorted to without departing from the scope of'the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An attachment'for vacuum cleaning devices comprising, in combination, afirst elongated housing including a lower wall member and a pair ofconvergent side wall members, an opening in the lower wall member, arotatable brush in said housing adjacent said opening, an opening inoneof said convergent side walls, a second housing removably secured tosaid first housing and in communication therewith through the opening insaid side wall, a rotor in said second housing, a gear drive meanssecured exteriorly of said second housing and driven by said rotor, adrive shaft from said gear drive drivingly connected to said rotatablebrush, a pair of arcuate channel members in said second housing aroundsaid rotor, one of said pair of arcuate channel members being radiallyofiset from the other, and a suction outlet leading from said secondhousing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

